Dr Jane Lennon AM
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Submission No. 15 The Secretary Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Re: Inquiry into the administration of the National Memorials Ordinance 1928, the building of memorials of national significance in Canberra. I would like to comment on the issues raised in the terms of reference for your Inquiry. As a preamble however, I’m appalled at the failure of process that has let the current war memorials proposal for Rond Terrace on the north shore of Lake Burley Griffin get to this stage of absurdity when most Australians believe that the Australian War Memorial, one of the early entries on the National Heritage List, is the centre of our national commemoration for all Australian who have served in wars and this is attested to by its continuing high visitation. Australian citizens have since 1974 expected that the Australian Heritage Commission and its successor, the Australian Heritage Council, through their legislative powers would advise government on the protection of the heritage values of places, often the people’s public places. But in this case this has not occurred from my reading of the press reports, and indeed it highlights how the NCA had become a law unto itself seeking to ‘activate’ the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin by inappropriate developments aimed at increasing tourism. However, the listing of the Parliamentary Vista is only on the Commonwealth Heritage List [see Appendix 1 for its statement of heritage values and cultural significance] rather than the Minister having to exercise the heritage processes of the relevant sections of the EPBC Act as with NHL places. In addition, the tenure of Commonwealth and designated lands within the Parliamentary Triangle has been a vexed and long running issue that would have been dealt with long ago in most local government situations, but, as this is a matter of power for certain members of Parliament and /or appointed non-elected committees, it has been tip toed around and slid under the radar of public comment. There have been ‘contests’ previously over the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, the Centenary of Women’s Suffrage memorial, the redevelopment of the forecourt area to the National Library, Reconciliation Place to name a few such issues in the Parliamentary Vista. This current proposal developed over several years by the National Capital Authority with total disregard for the conservation of the heritage listed places in the area demonstrates serious failure in the administration of the National Memorials Ordinance 1928. Fortunately, this Inquiry provides an opportunity for ensuring that proper regard is given to heritage conservation from the outset of any proposal for a memorial, and to stop the current proposal from being constructed as it is out of scale and wrongly located. Therefore it is timely to address the range of issues behind the current fiasco and bring decision making into the national gaze through open and well publicised consultation notices/discussion papers. The membership of the Canberra National Memorials Committee (CNMC): This committee should have relevant experts –national heritage expert, social historian, landscape architect/designer, urban planner and representatives of both major political parties in the Australian Parliament and a representative of the ACT government given the local population resident in the national capital. There are expert heritage associations such as Australia ICOMOS and membership organisations such as the National Trust and Australian Garden History Society who could supply excellent nominees experienced in heritage conservation and cultural landscapes in particular. The process for decision-making by the CNMC: Given the title of this committee, it should be controlled by the national parliament delegated to one of its agencies to act as secretariat such as the one responsible for national heritage who would then make a statutory report back to parliament outlining the views of experts, local citizens and the wider Australian public about the memorial issue being debated. The charter of the CNMC should require that it acknowledges primacy of heritage values and then it follows that there be proper regard be given from the outset to heritage impacts of any proposed memorial in heritage listed places and the fact that the Committee is creating or adding to the stock of national heritage. Mechanisms for the CNMC to seek independent, expert advice: Proposals for a monument to be erected on a heritage place must be accompanied by advice from an independent heritage expert as to the impact of the proposal on the heritage values of the place. The expert should be chosen at random from a panel of experts accredited by the Committee. Where the heritage place is a significant cultural landscape the expert must have appropriate skills and experience in that area, i.e. not just any architect or historian. Opportunities for improving transparency in the administration of the Ordinance: Any proposals should be advertised in the public media with provision for public comments like any development application under standard town planning regulations. The results of these consultations on siting, design, use and maintenance should then be made available publicly. The decisions of the Committee to approve any memorial should be published with reasons, and subject to appeal by any interested party under the ADJR Act. The appropriate level of parliamentary oversight for proposed National Memorials: Parliamentary oversight should include the Minister responsible for heritage, to ensure that the heritage values of national importance are protected and conserved. The designed landscapes of cultural heritage significance in Canberra are part of Australia’s heritage and must be conserved, the Griffin legacy. The appropriate level of public participation in the development of proposed National Memorials: Public participation should be achieved by nominations from public organisations for membership of the Canberra National Memorials Committee and by providing opportunities for public participation in the decision making process as outlined above for a more transparent process. If changes to the current arrangements are recommended, inquire into and report on transition provisions for current provisions for current proposals for memorials which have not yet been constructed: Any memorials currently proposed should not be constructed, and the Joint Standing Committee should so recommend. This Committee should also recommend that no memorials be constructed without regard for the Walter Burley Griffin landscape design, a masterwork which is part of our national heritage and often regarded as a contender for World Heritage. The question as to whether the proposed World War 1 and World War II memorials should be constructed at some other location should be subject to a public inquiry. However, as stated at the beginning of this submission, the Australian War Memorial should be the centre of commemoration in the national capital and receive proper funding and support which it has not had in recent years as reported in the press. In addition, nearly every Australian town has a war memorial and these should be regarded as the distributed national collection and subject to maintenance grants. In Queensland the Minister for Public Works had such a grant fund as these memorials were much loved and often in towns without a viable population to look after them. Conservation led to increased interest in their history and a civic pride. Australia does not need another set of new memorials as commemorative panels or names can be added to existing town memorials as is occurring even for Afghanistan veterans; nor do we need a military cemetery managed by the Department of Veteran Affairs along the lines of the American central one at Arlington as has been suggested In addition, privately funded memorials proposals (like the lakeside war memorials) should have a limited time in which to raise money before government-allocated sites are withdrawn. This would test the level of support from the general Australian public. In conclusion, while war memorials commemorate the dead, they also perpetuate the people who build them and whose names also appear on them. This has a downside when it also involves the incremental despoiling of our national capital by officials and appointees making unsound decisions to progress the misconceived agendas of non-elected interest groups without reference to the heritage landscape legacy; the result is a plague of plaques in the landscape. Yours sincerely Dr Jane Lennon AM Appendix 1: Australian Heritage Database entry for Parliament House Vista, Anzac Pde, Parkes, ACT , Australia Photographs List Commonwealth Heritage List Class Historic Legal Status Listed place (22/06/2004) Place ID 105466 Place File No 8/01/000/0075 Summary Statement of Significance Design Importance The Parliament House Vista is the central designed landscape of Canberra, that expresses the core of the Walter Burley Griffin design vision for Canberra. It is highly significant for its symbolic representation of the democratic interchange between the people and their elected representatives and its use of the natural landforms to generate a strong planning geometry. It expresses a masterly synthesis and ordering of topographical features and administrative functions to meet the needs of a national capital. The vista landscape embraces the central land axis and part of the water axis and